Flight

I drag my feet in quick shuffles as I move through the bare streets. A cold gust of wind blows, chilling my body through my old clothing right down to my bones. My teeth clamp together in response to the bone-freezing chill, but I maintain my steely expression. Occasionally, one or two people would shuffle by, backs bent and eyes glued to the floor, wearing the same hard expression on their faces. No one dared make eye contact with each other, no one spoke. Greeting others was out of the question. Rude it may seem, but this was a form of protection we gave others and ourselves. Even the slightest nod of the head could cause you to be attacked by the secret police, who would drag you away into the depths of hell, never to be seen again.

I quickened my pace ever so slightly as I rounded the corner, praying hard that no soldiers were following me as I moved down the market. Or at least what was supposed to be a market. All that was present were empty carts and shops lined with bare shelves. Not a morsel of food was available for anyone, we were encountering yet another food shortage. Slipping my hand in my pants pocket, I fingered a slip of crumpled paper. It bore a message from a friend, Paul. Come to my home ASAP. I have something to tell you. That was all it said, but if anyone catches me with such a message, I could be arrested. My heart pounded hard as I neared the familiar door of Paul's home, once in there I would be safer and I can burn this slip of paper.

I tapped on the wooden door lightly, and in an instant I was invited in and the door was bolted shut. Settling down on a small stool, I watched as Paul served me a cup of water. His mousy-brown hair was unkempt, dark circles cradled his eyes and his calloused, bony hands trembled as he sat down next to me. The darkness of his messy home only served to escalate my worry, what was he going to tell me?

"So," I whispered, hoping no one else could hear me. The secret police had the frightening ability to hear through walls. "What is it?"

He did not answer. Instead, he pushed a sheet of paper toward me. Gingerly, I picked it up, and peered at the untidy scrawls on the crumpled white sheet. It was a map. A map of the western part of town, showing numerous alleyways, dots and most notably, the wall. The wall the kept us in, and the others out. I looked closer, the dots were labelled as soldiers. A large arrow snaked through the maze of alleys, ending at the wall. My eyes widened, he was planning an escape!

"Are you sure? We will die!" I hissed. Paul merely narrowed his eyes and asked, "Surely you don't want to stay here. Don't you want to see your family?" My heart ached at the mention of my family. Ever since that blasted wall was built, I had never seen my family even once. They were left on the outside, while I was left caged in here and made to suffer. My eyebrows furrowed as I thought of all the suffering I had to endure while living here, not having enough food, working like a slave and not being able to see my kin. The more I thought, the more I was sure that I wanted to get out. Even so, was escape even possible?

"I've been scouting, this plan will not fail. I will run, I risked my skin to draw this map. It's your choice to come." Paul folded his arms, indicating that his decision was final. He looked at me, waiting for my answer. I nodded.

"Good. We leave tomorrow night."

I sucked in my breath as my shoes scraped the dusty ground, the sound echoing sharply in my ears. Whipping my head around, I heaved a sigh of relief seeing that there was no one around. Paul was up ahead, the map clutched tightly in hand as he slid into a dark alley. I moved faster, getting separated could undermine this whole plan. I kept my head low, to enable myself to hide easily if needed. Even in the darkness of night and with a thick fog settling, I still felt utterly exposed, expecting to hear a soldier raising the alarm each time we made a new turn. My heart pounded wildly as we darted sliently through the alleys, passing wall after wall, following the planned route very closely. We struggled to stay silent, my muscles tensed at every sound I heard. The stress was immense, it was through sheer willpower that I kept my knees from buckling in fear.

Finally, we were at the last alley, the wall visible at the opening of the alleyway. Finally, we were about to complete the escape. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I envisioned us making a break for it beyong the wall. In my excitement, I kicked over a bottle. It clinked as it rolled, sending echoes of its movement resounding into the air. Pure horror and fear flooded me instantly as I heard the thumping of boots nearby, getting louder by the second. Paul and I darted behind a large trash bin. The soldier entered the alley. I heard the distinct shuffle of the rifle getting raised, and the thumping of his boots grew louder as he neared the bin. If he gets past the bin, we are done for. I held my breath as he approached, and Paul mouthed a prayer.

A cat sprung out from under the bin, speeding past the soldier's feet and bolting into the darkness. I exhaled slowly as the sound of his boots began to grow softer and eventually died away. Thank heavens, we were saved. Once the coast was clear, we sprinted toward the battered, 2 metre tall wall. It was poorly constructed at this part, providing us several footholds. Paul wasted no time and began to climb. I quickly followed suit, the thick fog was not going to hide our presence for very long. The nearest guard post at the top of the wall was only 20 metres from where we were climbing, but based on Paul's scouting, the guard stationed there was currently patrolling elsewhere, leaving us a narrow pocket of time to get over. Blood pulsed through my body, and my excitement grew as I neared the top of the wall. With an almighty heave, Paul and I launched ourselves over the top, and landed in one piece on the other side.

Waves of euphoria crashed through me as I surveyed our success. There we were, shaken, panting and sweating profusely but alive and well on the other side of the wall. We both broke into huge smiles, patting each other on the back for a job well done. Finally, I could live and see my family again, no longer would I have to live in fear. We stood there, drowning in euphoria and grinning crazily as we relished in our successful escape. Neither of us heard the dangerous click of a rifle overhead.

The gun fired. Immediately, my mind was thrown into a frenzied panic as I watched Paul collapse beside me, clutching his thigh and releasing an inhuman scream from his lips. His bright eyes turned hollow, and the colour drained from his face as a dark pool of blood grew from under his thigh. His screaming ripped the silence of the night into shreds. Reeling in fear, I gave in to instinct. I bolted, running as fast as I could to the town up ahead. As I tore down the empty square, my conscience began to unleash a torrent of guilt. He was my friend. He gave me the chance for freedom. He gave me a hope. Betrayal. Left him for dead. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks as my conscience pronounced its judgement on me again and again. Paul's screams of agony continued to shatter the silence, and I jumped as two more shots were fired, one striking the ground near me and the other narrowly missing me by mere inches. Throwing all caution to the wind, I dove sideways into the first alley I saw, putting me out of the soldier's line of fire, Paul's screams filling my ears all the while. Another shot was fired, and the screaming stopped.

As I lay on my back in the dark alley, I watched the narrow strip of dark sky above me. My heart was still racing and my lungs burned as I gasped for air. The tears had stopped, and my conscience had fallen silent as hope of seeing better days began to blossom in my heart. At least, I could see my family again.